The BJP had issued a whip asking its members to be present in the House today and the day after.

A debate on a vote of thanks by the President turned into a fierce political battle that saw a combative PM Modi take on Opposition, blaming it for forcing partition on India and decades later on Telangana. Even as the Opposition raised slogans in its attempt to block the PM's speech, Modi raked up Kashmir and an incident in 1982 where Rajiv Gandhi insulted a Dalit CM.

This is what he said in the house:

1) If Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have been the first PM of the country, entire Kashmir would have been ours

2) Congress is unhappy because my government put the corrupt and middlemen out of work.

3) A government that talked about 21st century could not bring an aviation policy. Then what kind of a 21st century did they talk about, the one with bullock carts

4) Employment is increasing but you (Congress) have closed your eyes as you are busy singing your songs

5) Irrespective of who heads the government, the aspirations of the brimming middle-class youth should always be the top priority

6) After forming government in 2014 we prioritised northeast and worked for its development, something Congress ignored

7) Every Indian is paying the price of the poison infested by Congress

8) In December, did we witness an ‘election’ or coronation for the post of Congress President (on Rahul)? One youngster raised his voice about this as well

9) Nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party

10) How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will. This is no commitment to democracy

11) For decades, one party devoted all their energies to serving one family. The interests of the nation were looked over just for the interests of one family

12) The governments of West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala where BJP or NDA is not in power have claimed with data that they have given 1 crore jobs in the last 3-4 years. Will you dispute their job claims too?

13) You (Congress) said Modi will scrap UIDAI but we made Aadhaar more effective in terms of enabling better and effective service delivery, suddenly you are opposing Aadhaar.

14) Congress was never connected to ground, never worked at ground level and it shows clearly as we look at your situation today

15) We were also in favour of Telangana. But this is the outcome of hurried-bifurcation keeping polls in mind. Nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party